Tiger Woods at the BMW Championship. / Matt Marton, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

Former golf professional and current Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee apologized to Tiger Woods via Twitter on Tuesday for insinuating that the world's No. 1 golfer cheated.

"Golf is a gentleman's game and I'm not proud of this debate. I want to apologize to Tiger for this incited discourse," Chamblee said on Twitter.

In a column Chamblee wrote for Golf.com, he gave Woods an "F" for his five-win season. He said Woods "was a little cavalier with the rules," citing four rules incidents Woods was involved in. In the column, Chamblee wrote of an incident in which he cheated in the fourth grade.

"When I was in the fourth grade, I cheated on a math test and when I got the paper back it had "100" written at the top and just below the grade, was this quote, "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!" It was an oft-quoted line from the epic poem "Marmion" by Sir Walter Scott, and my teacher's message was clear. Written once more beneath that quote was my grade of "100", but this time with a line drawn through it and beneath that an F. I never did ask my teacher how she knew I cheated and I certainly didn't protest the grade. I knew I had done the wrong thing and my teacher the right, but I never forgot the way I felt when I read that quote.

" â?¦ I remember when we only talked about Tiger's golf. I miss those days. He won five times and contended in majors and won the Vardon Trophy and ... how shall we say this ... was a little cavalier with the rules."

Chamblee then gave Woods a "100" but wrote a line through it and followed it with an "F."

Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, told ESPN.com that he would "have to give some thought to legal action."

Earlier, Chamblee told the Associated Press that he stood by his comments, although he did say in an email that he never said outright that he thinks Woods cheated.

Chamblee did not respond to an email or text message from USA TODAY Sports, nor did Steinberg.